St Helens dealt huge blow as star trio suffer long-term injuries and another cops ban

St Helens will be without four of their presumed starting 13 for the next two games due to injuries and suspension, with the injured trio potentially sidelined for as long as six weeks.

The players in question are Morgan Knowles (suspended), Daryl Clark (foot), Lewis Dodd (arm) and Mark Percival (Achilles) meaning the injury toll on the club’s spine now moves to four with Jack Welsby injured long-term and Jonny Lomax still suspended.

Morgan Knowles’ two-game ban was confirmed by the Match Review Panel earlier whilst Paul Wellens spoke at the Magic Weekend media day to confirm the injury status of Dodd, Percival and Clark, as revealed by the St Helens Star.

St Helens are set to take on old foes Wigan Warriors on Saturday at Elland Road and seem set to be without several star players through injury and suspension.

The only solace for Saints is that Wigan’s Harry Smith looks likely to miss out as he heads to a disciplinary tribunal following his red card at the weekend.

St Helens hit with triple injury blow

The news regarding Dodd’s injury was perhaps expected with the half-back leaving the field in Saints’ win over Salford. Paul Wellens would then confirm post-match that Dodd would go for scans for what he described as a “bit of an arm injury”.

Those scans have now been head and Wellens confirmed “elbow ligament damage” with Dodd set to be sidelined for “four to six weeks”.

As for Daryl Clark, Wellens had initially allayed fears about the hooker who had left the field for a HIA which he passed, however, images began circulating on social media of the number nine in a protective boot leading Wellens to confirm the bad news.

As reported by The St Helens Star, Wellens revealed: “Daryl has to get assessed and a proper x-ray done later but we are thinking that there is a fracture of the foot there. With that, we would be looking at potentially four to six weeks with the information we have so far.”

It means the Saints spine will be challenged massively against Wigan with Welsby, Lomax, Dodd and Clark all missing, leaving Moses Mbye and Harry Robertson from the victory over Salford Red Devils.

Wellens noted: “It is quite ironic that we missed a lot of our pack and then had our spine still there, now as we that we get our pack back we are chopping and changing with the spine.”